DNC - McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and the Gulf Coast

Today's McCain Myth: John McCain will do a heckuva job on Gulf Coast

recovery.

WASHINGTON, April 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being
issued by the Democratic National Committee:
Just this week John McCain said that "[t]here must be no forgotten
places in America" and is traveling to New Orleans today to make the case.
But don't believe the rhetoric. The fact is, McCain has a history of
denying the Gulf Coast aid when it needs it most and a record of outrageous
votes to show for it. Instead of helping the area rebuild after Hurricane
Katrina and the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast get back on their
feet, McCain actually voted to deny emergency funding to the area, and he
voted against giving victims of Katrina access to Medicaid and unemployment
benefits. [McCain Campaign Email, 4/22/08; 2006 Senate Vote #112, 5/4/2006;
2005 Senate Vote #285, 11/3/2005; 2006 Senate Vote #6, 2/2/2006; 2005
Senate Vote #229, 9/14/2005; 2005 Senate Vote #234, 9/15/2005]
Sure sounds like McCain would be more of the same Bush-Brownie inaction
for the Gulf Coast. And that's the last thing Louisiana -- or the rest of
America -- needs.
MCCAIN VOTED AGAINST RELIEF MEASURES FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA
McCain Voted Against Emergency Funding Bill, Including $28 Billion for
Hurricane Relief. McCain voted against passage of the Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations of 2006. It would provide more than $28 billion
for hurricane relief, approximately $2.3 billion for pandemic flu
preparations and $1.9 billion for border security efforts. [2006 Senate
Vote #112, 5/4/2006]
McCain Voted Against Five Months of Medicaid For Hurricane Katrina
Victims. McCain voted against an amendment to provide emergency health care
and other relief for survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The amendment would
grant access to Medicaid to Hurricane Katrina victims for up to five
months; it also provided full federal funding for Medicaid in Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama for up to one year; provided $800 million to
compensate providers caring for Katrina evacuees; it temporarily suspended
the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty; and permitted states hit by
Katrina or serving evacuees to access the TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy
Families) Contingency Fund. It would be offset with funds unspent by FEMA.
[2005 Senate Vote #285, 11/3/2005]
McCain Voted Twice Against Establishing A Commission To Study The
Response To Hurricane Katrina. McCain voted twice against establishing a
Congressional commission to examine Federal, State, and local response to
devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf Region; and
making immediate corrective measures to improve future responses. [2006
Senate Vote #6, 2/2/2006; 2005 Senate Vote #229, 9/14/2005]
McCain Opposed Granting Financial Relief To Those Affected By Hurricane
Katrina. In 2005, McCain voted against allowing up to 52 weeks of
unemployment benefits to individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina. [2005
Senate Vote #234, 9/15/2005]
After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is
walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the
Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the
campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held
positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake
himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the
real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily
fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
www.democrats.org.
This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.